The Glory That Is Rome

Currently, we are on the traffic-choked road to road to Pompeii. Our driver is very nice, but he's no Mario Andretti. So, I'm in the minivan with the laptop balanced on my lap (hence the name), and enjoying the wireless card (yes, I have also been working, not just blogging, so it's convenient to have the card and laptop).

Last night, we saw Rome in all it's glory -- a fine meal and a stroll back past a beautiful fountain and the lit up Santa Maria Maggliore.

Two years ago, Carol's cooking class was in Portico di Romagna, so when I saw a web write-up on the finest Roman restaurant on that region, we had to go. We weren't sure exactly where the street is -- and even the helpful staff at the hotel had no idea. We grabbed a cab. Our cabbie wasn't happy that we crammed five in -- but we wouldn't get out, so he gave up right away. He had to look up the street -- and when we got there, it was clear why. The street -- Via degli Avignonesi -- was a one lane cobblestone road -- narrower than most roads.

When we walked into the restaurant, Colline Emiliane -- is a trattoria on steriods, serving classic Bolognese cooking. Founded in 1931, it's not verty large, but it was packed. They must have turned away ten or 12 walk in groups (couples, or 3-4 people).

We ordered a Vino nobile di Montepulciano -- 2001 from Corte alla Flora. We'd heard of Vino nobile (and are going to Montepulciano on Sunday). It was excellent from the first sip. We've got a new Italian wine (new to us) to add to our famed repertoire.

The meal was excellent too -- a starter of prosciutto that is from a small town near Parma considered to provide the best in the world. I had the tortellini in cream sauce for the pasta course, while Carol had the risotto with mushrooms. The girls had various forms of pasta (tortellini soup for Maddy, while Torie and Julia each had spaghetti). For the meat course, I had veal bolognese, Carol had veal steak, Torie had the steak, and Julia had the braised beef -- which was amazing in a melt in your mouth kind of way.

The service was great, but our Wednesday night experience was reinforced -- the waiter disappears when it is time to get the check. Apparently this is some fun game they have in their culture. I love it!

At some point, I asked the waiter to point out to me on the map where we were -- it turns out we weren't that far from the hotel (the cabbie took many twists and turns to get us there), so we walked back to the hotel past many fountains (including an interscetion that had a fountain built-in to the buildings on every corner). Unfortunately, I had a 10 o'clock conference call, or we would have lingered longer at the fountains. As it was, I just made it back for the call.

Another random observation: Some of the most fun in Rome is crossing the street. Given the lack of traffic laws (as Julia keeps noting), it's a game of chicken -- use the children as human shields, and boldly go out when you think you can bluff the drivers into stopping. It should be on ESPN the Ocho as an extreme sport -- "Rrandom road crossing in Rome." It's also fun to get the motorcyclists muttering as you leave them no room between the peds and the cars. It's all good.